The Prophetic Books

What was a prophet? An individual who received from God a message to share with a person/people. He was God’s spokesman.

Who was a prophet? A prophet was usually a man, but sometimes a woman {Miriam, sister of Moses, Deborah (Book of Judges); Huldah (II Chronicles ch. 34); Isaiah’s wife; and Ana (Luke ch. 2)} We know very little about the biography of the prophets. They often came from obscurity, shared God’s message, and went back into obscurity. Of the few prophets we do know some back story, they came from various backgrounds – Isaiah was an educated scribe; Ezekiel was a priest; Amos was a shepherd.

How did one become a prophet? II Peter 1:20-21 - Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

One became a prophet when they received a message from God and then God told him/her to share this message with the people. A prophet received the message verbally – “The word of the Lord came to …”, ex. Jonah, Micah, Haggai, or in a vision – the prophet not only heard from God, but also saw God and/or coming events, ex. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Nahum.

For an example of God calling a person to be a prophet read Jeremiah chapter 1.

What did a prophet do? Share God’s message to a person/people. While most prophecy was directed to the people as a whole sometimes it was aimed at the leaders (kings, priests, and false prophets), ex. Haggai.

What was the message? The messages of prophets took two forms.

1. Forthtelling - declarations from God. God’s declarations can be summed up by the following –

Condemnation – God through his prophets exposed people’s wickedness and immorality (idolatry, sexual sins, greed, pride, violence, etc.) as well as hypocrisy and condemned it.

Hosea 4:1-2, 7-8, 10
Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed …
The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness … (The people) consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.
Exhortation - God through his prophets strongly encouraged people to be holy, righteous, obedient, humble, compassionate, etc.

Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Repentance – God through his prophets called on people to abandon their evil ways and return to God.

Joel 2:13-14
Even now," declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and bounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing…

Judgment – God through his prophets warned people of God’s wrath if they refused to repent. God’s judgment was often referred to as the Day of the Lord.

Zephaniah 1:14-18
The great day of the LORD is near, near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.

Homework assignment for next Sunday. Read Isaiah chapter 1 and Amos chapter 5. Identify examples of condemnation, exhortation, repentance, and judgment in Isaiah’s message to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Amos’ message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.